Baby Humbug...

so today i have a bad case of the pregnancy blues. actually for the past couple days...not sure why, since when we went to the doctor yesterday he said everything looks great, the baby won't be here for probably at least 4 weeks (i'm starting to get so confused with all the different reports they keep giving me.) AND lb has been in a particularly hilarious mood...dancing and singing and getting himself stuck in impossible positions all around the the apartment through the last couple days making me laugh even when i don't feel like it. but aside from him making me smile occasionally, it's been all pain and yucky feelings. perhaps i need to sleep every once in awhile...problem being that i can't breathe when i lie down so that's kinda out of the question. or maybe it would be good for me to get outside these apartment walls. or perhaps actually having a conversation with someone over the age of 15 months would help. either way, i just keep reminding myself that it's all so so worth it.

but anyways...let's forget the bad stuff and carry on with the happy art sharing...

first, my second version of the love you forever project. i decided after trying everything from flowers to buttons to hearts that i just liked it with only the words. so i repainted and left it at that. much much happier with it now:

next, a couple cards i did quick today. first one for my niece elyse...possibly the sweetest kid in the entire world. i really miss her so much...everytime she sees me she runs over and gives me the biggest hugs and she calls me to talk and giggles at all my londie stories. i absolutely adore her.

and another quick one for my great uncle and aunt's 50th anniversary. i'm always in complete awe of couples that make it so long. i hope with all my heart that one day (that doesn't come TOO soon) nate and i can reach this same milestone. how amazing would that be?

i also painted 2 of those cream candle holders that you can see to the right of the card. they were an unacceptable brassy plasticy color so i painted over them and then sanded them down a bit. not sure what i'll do with them, but for now they worked to hold up my art to photograph.

and lastly, i wanted to share a little mini-album that i created for my dad this christmas. i just realized yesterday that i never posted it except on the JBS blog (where you can get instructions and product info). i had each of my brothers' ask their kids  what their favorite thing about grandpa was and i just LOVED what they came up with. after photographing it i added each of their ages so that he would be able to remember exactly, and being the ridiculously sentimental person that i am, i loved the book...just for the content. and considering i definitely got that sentimentality FROM my dad, he seemed pretty happy with it himself. my mom told me later that he has it right on his bedside table and reads it each night. she even said that it's been read so many times that the letter stickers were falling off.

and i love that. that's the kind of art i love to make. the kind that gets worn and torn and fingerprinted and ripped from being handled so much.

each page has a photo of one of his 11 grandkids, what they love about him and a jbs bingo card with a title that goes along with what they said:

and here's a couple photos of him first reading it. 

 

and with that, i'm off to take a nice long bubble bath, cry a few more tears, drink a tall root beer and watch a couple more episodes of big love before trying to sleep another night.

tomorrow is the first day of nate's weekend, so i know it will be a better day.

xoxo, Cheryl

Comments

[Debbie Smith]

Oh Cheryl I am in love with the mini book you made for your Dad and the photos of him reading it. I showed my Dad a mini album I made for him of his early life and wish I had thought to take a pic of him reading it before he died last year.

Thanks for sharing.

I would love to know how you're planning to approach scrapping pics of your new baby when she arrives. I haven't started my babies albums yet and need some clues. As there's so many photos!

Debbie xox

[ann]

You're going to have more trouble sleeping if you watched the last week's episode of Big Love! Margene, what were YOU thinking?! still runs through my head! :)

Your mini was as lovely as ever! Enjoy your weekend!

[tara pollard pakosta]

I feel so bad for you! hope you feel better soon! that gift is PERFECT! i have been trying for YEARS to do the same thing for my mom! Nobody ever gets back to me with their things they want to write. I may just have to send blank scrapbook pages to them to get it done (there are 19 of them plus 2 greats). get some rest! oh and you are welcome to call me any time!
tara

[tamari]

oh the mini album is so cute! and i love the card too!:]

[rhonda]

I love that mini album and your handwriting. I hate mine. IF I use it I regret it as I feel it makes the page look bad. Everything else looks great but that lol. I know it is important and Liam will want to see it one day when I am gone. I am ready for the Sunday challenge today. It snowed so I am going to create!